The Pakistani government dispatched a military aircraft Sunday to airlift 120 foreign tourists, including 77 Japanese, from a northern region where sectarian violence has left them stranded since early this month.
Japan's embassy in Islamabad requested the help from Pakistan once it became clear the region had become unsafe, transport links were broken and food at some hotels was running short.
(Japan Times)
Pakistan airlifts Japanese tourists out of Gilgit
↧
↧
Japan's oldest serving mayor wins 4th term at 82
Japan's oldest serving mayor, Shigemasa Igawa, 82, secured his fourth term Sunday without a vote in the mayoral election in Kudamatsu, Yamaguchi Prefecture, the city's election board said.
Igawa, who has served as mayor of the western Japan city since defeating the then 82-year-old incumbent in April 2000, told reporters, "It is the best day of my life." Asked if he will work until he is 100 years old, he said, laughing, " don't know."
(Mainichi)
↧
Japan to deregulate sale of lethal blowfish
The toxic puffer fish which contains tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin, has killed more than 20 Japanese diners in the past 10 years.
It is currently only served at licensed restaurants, but local governments are now easing laws to make provision for unlicensed outlets who say they are losing business.
However, while demand for the fish is high, some people fear that the law change will make dining out more dangerous. (Aljazeera)
↧
Patient murdered in Aomori hospital
Police said Monday that a male patient was murdered in a hospital in Aomori City on Sunday night.
Police said they received a call at about 9 p.m. from Sannai Sawabe hospital, reporting the death of a patient, TV Asahi reported. Investigators found the patient dead in bed. He has been identified as Masayuki Akahira, 52.
(Japan Today)
↧
China buys most Japan short-term debt in 1 1/2 years
China bought the most short-term Japanese debt since May 2010 in February, according to data released by Japan's Ministry of Finance today.
The world's largest holder of foreign-exchange reserves increased net purchases of short-term Japanese debt to 651 billion yen ($8 billion), the highest since May 2010, when China bought 694.8 billion yen, according to Japanese government data going back to 2005. China sold 268.8 billion yen of medium- and long-term Japanese bonds in February.
(Bloomberg)
↧
↧
North Korea readies longer range rocket; Japan, S.Korea wary
North Korea has readied a rocket for a launch from a forested valley in its remote northwest this week that will showcase the reclusive state's ability to fire a missile with the capacity to hit the continental United States.
Pyongyang says the rocket, to be launched this week, will only carry a weather satellite, but South Korea and the United States say it is a test of a ballistic missile. And although the risk of it veering off course is low, guidance remains its weakest point.
(Reuters)
↧
Nikkei falls after US jobs data, set for 5th day of losses
Japan's Nikkei share average fell
1.1 percent and looked set to put in its fifth day of losses on
Monday after a disappointing U.S. jobs report showed the U.S.
economic recovery remained sluggish, while a stronger yen
weighed on exporters.
(Reuters)
↧
Japan to give $15.3m in aid to Myanmar minorities
The government intends to extend support worth about 1 billion yen(S$15.3 million) for ethnic minorities in Myanmar in the form of food aid and contributions to the UN refugee office, sources have said.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will officially announce the program on April 21 when he will meet with Myanmar President Thein Sein in Tokyo, the sources said.
(AsiaOne)
↧
Golf: Japanese golf star Ryo Ishikawa engaged
Young Japanese golf star and heartthrob Ryo Ishikawa has disappointed his legions of female admirers by announcing his engagement to his childhood sweetheart.
Nicknamed "The Bashful Prince", he stayed true to form with the announcement, giving scant details about his forthcoming nuptials, including the name of his intended.
(AFP)
↧
↧
Can Japan break the Iran impasse?
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is determined to break the impasse over Iran. But does Japan's government welcome his initiative?
Former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, a key advisor on the current government's foreign policy, is in Tehran this week, and is holding talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But it's not a popular trip with some of his colleagues.
(The Diplomat)
↧
Tokyo Electric burns almost four times as much oil in March
Tokyo Electric Power Co in March used almost four times
as much as crude oil and fuel oil combined from a year earlier and the highest monthly volume of
liquefied natural gas since August to make up for a fall in its nuclear power generation to zero
during the month, data by Japan's biggest utility showed on Monday.
(Reuters)
↧
Japan swings back to current account surplus
Japan swung back to a current account surplus in February after suffering a record deficit in the previous month, official data said Monday.
The surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world, stood at 1.18 trillion yen ($14.4 bn), the finance ministry said.
(inquirer.net)
↧
Olympics: Joy and pain for comeback king Kitajima
Wincing and gasping for breath, Kosuke Kitajima gave the impression of a man clinging on for dear life at the Japanese national swimming championships. Looks can deceive.
As excruciating as the pain coursing through his body was, the 29-year-old became the first Japanese swimmer to qualify for four Olympics last week, showing glimpses of his top form.
(Reuters)
↧
↧
Sumo: First Arab wrestler chases glory in Japan
With legs resembling tree trunks and packing the body weight of two average-sized men, sumo wrestling's "Great Sandstorm" would seem a good fit for the wildly popular Japanese sport.
But Egypt's Abdelrahman Ahmed Shaalan, the first professional sumo wrestler from both the African continent and Arab world, faces some mighty challenges as he embarks on a quest to become a yokozuna, or grand champion.
(AFP)
↧
Twitter introduces brand pages in Japan, a first for Asia
Twitter first launched brand pages in the US in December last year and four months later the advertising feature has come to Japan, the first market in Asia.
DoCoMo, the country's largest mobile operator, national retailer Lawson and Warner Entertainment Japan are the first companies that will take advantage of the pages, according to the Twitter Japan blog [Japanese], via Asiajin.
(thenextweb.com)
↧
Rape victim marks 10 years on lonely crusade for justice
It surely isn't very often that elite Japanese bureaucrats hear the words to the national anthem quoted at them - by a foreigner. Earlier this year, Australian national Catherine Fisher says she pulled the words of "Kimigayo" from her head during a frustrating meeting with officials from the ministries of defense, justice and foreign affairs. (Japan Times)
↧
Book is behind bullying of mixed-race children
Dear Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hirofumi Hirano,
My three beautiful children were all born in Japan and went to Japanese public schools. Their mother is a native Japanese of Japanese ethnic background, and I am a Canadian citizen of African background.
Since my children are light brown, they were often teased by other kids because of the color of their skin. (Japan Times)
↧
↧
Japan's infidelities: Cheaters traced through electronic travel cards
Japanese travel cards like Pasmo are being used by investigators to track unfaithful partners.
Until recently the card logged three months of travel and purchase information for customers to check.
However Pasmo had to shut down this service. They discovered that investigators were using the information on these cards to expose affairs. (ZDNet)
↧
Oi reactors secure from blackout-induced meltdowns, Edano says
The safety debate at the Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture appeared to shift toward reactivation late Monday as trade minister Yukio Edano said it has already fulfilled enough of last week's hastily drafted extra safety steps to prevent meltdowns from happening during power outages.
Emerging from a Cabinet meeting on nuclear safety Monday night, Edano said the government now believes Oi's reactors can survive a station blackout like the one that doomed the Fukushima No. 1 power plant in Fukushima Prefecture last March.
(Japan Times)
↧
Teachers with two left feet struggling with dance classes
A new education rule that kicked in this year has created a fresh challenge for gym teachers across the nation: how to teach hip-hop.
Thanks to teaching guidelines revised in 2008, dancing joined martial arts as a compulsory subject for junior high school students this month.
(Japan Times)
↧
More Pages to Explore .....
